Friday, May 30, 2025

Slow progress and six thirty saunas.

And to think we started off the week thinking TACO was a filled tortilla. How quickly things change.

Progress on the sports bar being developed by Justin Timberlake and Tiger Wood seems to be progressing painfully slowly. A Portacabin has now arrived and been positioned on the road outside. This will enable the workmen to have their cups of tea in the dry. Fencing has been installed to stop passers by from peeking inside at the progress ... or lack of it.. I had thought the bar might open up in time for the 2025 golf season but the way things are looking that's not going to happen. The letter 'O' in Picture House has fallen off but no one seems to have noticed .


This is the time of year when graduating students move out and pass on their apartments to a new generation of party animals. An apartment in the centre of town is worth its weight in gold. Two youngsters are moving a mattress and in the process discovering that mattresses are both heavy and difficult to carry. Rain showers don't help nor do the strong gusts of wind. Their progress along the pavement towards their new home is leisurely.

One of the hotels on the fancy street near the Catholic church is offering graduation lunches for the not unreasonable price of £42.50. 'The Font' notes that the 'Graduates celebrate in style ' advert includes a tassel. The designer has failed to spot the difference between a golden furniture tassel and the black sort you'd find hanging from a mortarboard. There was a time when gold tassels like this were popular 'flushing' features in the loos of regional French boutique hotels. This is a trend that thankfully soon died a hygiene driven death.


A group of American girls are in no rush to head home for the summer holidays. They're enjoying their freedom. This is the ' Hey Mom. I'll be home as soon as I can but I've got a paper that must be in by mid-month' crowd. At first light the girls rushed into the sea, screamed and then returned to the new sauna on the beach. Dogs and their owners ignored them. A plume of smoke is now billowing from the saunas chimney. A group of young men who have sensibly avoided the cold water part of this experience  join them there with six packs of beer and Red Bull. The joys of being nineteen. Are they returning from a late night out or starting their day super early  ?

The trees in town, spurred on by the recent rain, are suddenly in full leaf. The gulls who usually strut around as if they won the place ( which they do )  seem quiet. They must be nesting.


The 'Poppies' ( or some of them ) are coming back to the Tower of London :https://www.halcyongallery.com/news/166-paul-cummins-poppies-return-to-the-tower-of-tower-of-london-unveils-new-commemorative-installation/

Sparrows :https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/trash-birds

An insiders account of working at DOGE :https://sahillavingia.com/doge

Sleep :https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-chronicles-of-infertility/202505/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need-and-how-to-get-it

5 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
I wonder how many students can afford that set celebration. Perhaps the sauna and 'carryoot' is the alternative! YAM xx

Travel said...

Another delightful morning, thanks for taking us along for the exploration.

Lisa in France said...

I enjoyed the article about trash birds, especially the reference to starlings strutting like tiny dinosaurs. I think I have a special weakness for trash birds. Just this morning, we were watching a pigeon that was trying very hard to find a way to drink safely from our pool with Charlie on the prowl - the pigeon had no way of knowing that Charlie was trained on the playgrounds of Tokyo to leave the pigeons (and by extension our parrots) strictly alone.

Diaday said...

What a delightful morning walk. Love your commentary on all the "unimportant little things..."

CheerfulMonk said...

Thank you again for writing. I've quoted you and your first line to my friends. I'm still smiling.